Around the Herd: Oct. 15 to Oct. 18 in Athletics

Field Hockey 

This week, the women’s field hockey team played two games at home. On Wednesday, the team bested Smith College 6-1. But on Saturday, the team fell to NESCAC rival Hamilton in a 1-2 shootout loss.

On Monday night, the Mammoths had a dominant start on Hill Field against the Bears. In the first 15 minutes of play, Amherst recorded seven shots on goal — to Smith’s zero — but all attempts were blocked or saved by the Bears’ defense. Early into the next quarter, the Mammoths finally broke through when Emma Zhang ’29 dribbled the ball into the shooting circle and then sent a cross to Anna Aiello ’26, who backhanded a shot into the net. Less than five minutes later, Justine Liguori ’26 slid a diving shot into the goal off an assist from Caroline Busler ’28 to give Amherst a 2-0 lead. In the last minutes of the same quarter, Liguori evaded her defenders and made a pass to Bella Kim ’29; the forward then redirected the ball into the back of the cage, making it 3-0. The Mammoths’ offense continued to put on pressure after halftime. Only three minutes into the third period, Maya Harrington ’27 inserted the ball on a penalty corner. The ball eventually found Aiello, who rocketed a shot past the Bears’ goaltender, increasing Amherst’s lead to 4-0. Later in the quarter, the Mammoths struck again after Molly Donegan ’26 intercepted an attempted pass from Smith and then found Liguori. The shot attempt was deflected, but Busler was there to bury the rebound, making it 5-0. Almost five minutes later, the Bears’ offense found a stride of their own, sending a loose ball into the net to make the score 5-1. Minutes into the final quarter, Liguori made a well-timed pass to Kim, who then buried the ball from the right post, scoring Amherst’s final goal of the match. The Mammoths controlled the game offensively in their 6-1 win with a 22-3 advantage in shots and 10-1 advantage in penalty corners taken.

On Saturday, the team honored their four senior players, Liguori, Aiello, Molly Donegan ’26, and Isa Lattuada ’26, before facing Hamilton. Amherst’s offensive chances were stifled by the Continentals’ defense early in the game, preventing the Mammoths from recording a shot in the first quarter. Hamilton was awarded two penalty corners in the first minutes, but three crucial saves from goalkeeper Kate Grady ’28 kept the game scoreless after the first period. The Continentals were first on the board three minutes into the second period after prevailing on a deflection in front of the net. Amherst responded quickly, however, when Harrington dribbled into the arch, dodged two Hamilton defenders, and fired the ball into the corner to tie the game at one a piece. Strong defense from Emily Huehn ’28 kept the Continentals scoreless in the third stanza when Huehn chased down a breakaway shot attempt. In the fourth quarter, the Mammoths’ offense found more opportunities after winning two penalty corners, but nothing solidified, sending the match to overtime. Amherst’s momentum continued in the extra period with three more penalty corner chances, but all subsequent shots were blocked by Hamilton’s defense. In the last minute of overtime, the Continentals were awarded two corners of their own, but critical saves from Grady sent the game to a shootout instead. Ultimately, Hamilton was triumphant in the shootout, scoring all three penalty shots and defending all three of the Mammoths’ shots, to win 2-1. 

Next week, the team will travel to face conference opponent Bowdoin on Saturday, Oct. 25.

Volleyball

The Amherst volleyball team dropped two home games this weekend, first playing Connecticut College on Friday, before losing to Trinity College in straight sets on Saturday.

In their first match, Amherst scored the first two points before the visiting Camels came alive. From there, Connecticut took over. Despite kills from Addison Lau ’29, Ellie Myers ’28, and Charlotte Rasmussen ’26, and a late rally with help from Gabrielle Hines ’29 and Sofia Camilo ’28, the Mules powered past Amherst 25-16. The Mammoths were able to change their tune in the second set. Amherst jumped to an early 9-3 lead, getting kills from Chideraa Ngwadom ’27, Brielle Renwick ’27, Lau, and Hines. Connecticut narrowed the lead slightly, but Alexandra Trofort ’26 and Rasmussen were relentless on offense, helping the Mammoths take the second set 25-21. Unfortunately for Amherst, Connecticut College would run away with the third and fourth sets to win the match. The third set saw a tie 18-18 between the two teams, but the Camels rattled off five straight points to win. In the final set of the match, Amhest jumped out to a lead, getting a service ace from Judith Subirats-Bosch ’29 and kills from Lau and Myers. Again, however, Connecticut rallied late in the set, overpowering the Mammoths to win 25-20 and defeat Amherst in four sets. In the loss, Lau registered 10 kills while Rasmussen added 9. Subirats-Bosch had 23 assists. 

The following day, the Mammoths hosted Trinity, who defeated Amherst in straight sets. The first set was always close; neither team trailed by more than three points throughout. Ngwadom and Hines had key kills, while Rasmussen added an ace. The Bantams made a crucial run to lead 21-17, where Camilo brought it back within three with a kill. However, Trinity continued their scoring, claiming the first set 25-21. Trinity jumped to a big 9-2 lead in the second set, and while Amherst contributed points throughout, the Bantams never trailed and won the second set 25-22. In the third set, the teams were evenly paced, tied at 10-10. A kill from Ngwadom and an ace from Lau helped the Mammoths in the points column, but Trinity again came away victorious with a score of 25-22. Defensively, Ngwadom and Camilo each had three blocks, while Rasmussen led the Mammoths with 10 kills. 

The team hosts back-to-back games again this weekend, hosting Emerson College on Friday, Oct. 24, before playing Wellesley College on Saturday, Oct. 25, and honoring the team’s two seniors: Rasmussen and Trofort. 

Women’s Cross Country 

This week, the No. 12-ranked women’s cross country team competed in the Connecticut College Invitational on Saturday, placing 16th.

In New London, Connecticut, the Mammoths ran a six-kilometer course in the Blue Championship race as well as a full contingent run in the White race. In the Blue race, Flora Biro ’28 finished first for Amherst, crossing the finish line in 21:20 to earn 16th overall. With a time of 22:39, Ava Thomas ’28 finished next, placing 85th overall. Dani Perez-Cartaya ’28 finished in 117th place after finishing in 22:58. Following closely behind, Audrey Seeger ’28’s time of 23:03 earned 125th place. Piper Lentz ’27 finished in 23:20 and Addison McGoey ’28 finished in 23:23 to earn 144th and 151st place, respectively. To round out the Mammoths’ seven-woman roster, Maya Levine ’28 took 173rd place with a time of 23:40. These finishes earned Amherst 16th place out of 38 teams in the championship race. In the White race, Katie Greenwald ’29 finished first for the Mammoths, earning 24th with a finishing time of 23:05; her time helped the team take 7th place out of 43 teams.

On Nov. 1, the team will head to Waterford, Connecticut, to compete in the NESCAC Championships. 

Men’s Cross Country

On Saturday, the No. 12-ranked men’s cross country team placed eighth in the Connecticut College Invitational meet.

In Waterford, Connecticut, the team competed against 34 other teams in an eight-kilometer race. Harrison Dow ’27 was the first to cross the line for the Mammoths, claiming 14th place overall with a time of 24:22. Carter Bengtson ’29 followed behind him with a time of 24:43, placing 32nd overall and second amongst first-year runners. Crossing the finish line in 24:59, Henry Dennen ’26 ran his best 8k time of the season and placed 52nd. Thomas Stephens ’26 recorded his best collegiate time of 25:19 in the 8k, placing 85th. To round out Amherst’s scoring, Harrison Talcott ’27 finished in 25:43 to take 109th overall. These efforts earned the Mammoths eighth place out of 34. Amherst also entered a contingent in the sub-varsity White race. Those runners placed 14th out of 37 teams. Notably, Finn O’Hara ’28 was the first Mammoth to finish in the group, earning 33rd place with a time of 26.03.

The team will run next in the NESCAC Championships on Nov. 1.

Women’s Soccer 

This week, the women’s soccer team faced conference rival Hamilton at home on Saturday, falling 1-0 in a heartbreaker.

Before the game, the team honored its eight senior players: Lulu Fickes ’26, Ella Johnson ’26, Sophia Haynes ’26, Kate Quigley ’26, Halle Hanna ’26, Brooke Ingemi ’26, Katie O’Reilly ’26, and Ella Watkins ’26. The Mammoths found an early chance against the Continentals. Following Amherst’s possession after the opening kickoff, Caroline Coletti ’28 sent a shot from the left wing, but the forward’s attempt was saved by Hamilton’s goaltender. Despite the early action, neither team was able to create many offensive chances for the rest of the first period. This was partly thanks to work from the Mammoths’ defensive unit of Fickes, Johnson, Quigley, Mekhala Costello ’28, and Sofia Preuss ’27 that prevented the Continentals from finding space. Amherst returned from halftime with more energy, finding multiple offensive chances. Haynes, Coletti, and Emma Darling ’29 all registered shots, but all three efforts were saved or went just wide of the net. With just 10 minutes left in the game, the Mammoths struggled to clear a corner kick taken by Hamilton, allowing the Continentals to slip the ball into the net and score the game-winning goal. Amherst tried to rally in the last minutes of the game, but — despite a late free kick chance — the Continentals’ defense solidified the final score of 1-0. In spite of the loss, the Mammoths outshot Hamilton 12-10 over the course of the match.

On Saturday, Oct. 25, the team will play its penultimate game of the regular season against Bowdoin.

Men’s Soccer 

The men’s soccer team hosted NESCAC foe Hamilton on Saturday, winning the contest 2-1. 

On Hitchcock Field, the team started the match by celebrating their six senior players: Juan Perez ’26, Ugnius Selvenis ’26, James Street ’26, Andrew Tremante ’26, Adrian Trott ’26, and Ioannis Hadjiyiannis ’26. Both the Mammoths and the Continentals showed their defensive prowess in the first period, keeping the match scoreless. Michael Cherico ’28 and Vincent Akanbo ’29 both recorded shots after only five minutes of play, but their efforts were saved or blocked. Minutes later, Amherst’s goaltender, Trey Sheppard ’28, was called to action, saving two attempts from Hamilton. The Mammoths found another offensive stride with shots from Trott, Obed Opoku ’28, and Mohammed Nuhu ’27 in the 22nd, 26th, and 28th minutes, respectively, but all three attempts w just shy of the net. After halftime, Amherst returned with momentum. Their efforts were finally rewarded in the 57th minute when Luka Ohadike ’27 evaded two Hamilton defenders to send a pass to Cherico, who — from right outside the box — shot the ball into the top corner of the net, putting Amherst on the board first. Less than five minutes later, the Mammoths doubled their lead after Riley Priddy ’27 gained possession and sent a long pass to Nuhu. The forward then dribbled past the Continentals’ netminder and scored his sixth goal of the season. Hamilton responded in the 72nd minute, chipping the ball into the goal after they were awarded a penalty kick. In the last minutes of play, Amherst’s defense continued to shine, robbing Hamilton’s attempts to score the equalizer and claiming a 2-1 victory.

The team will play its last away game of the regular season on Saturday, Oct. 25, against Bowdoin. 

Football

The football team hosted its penultimate home game this past Saturday versus Colby, where they were bested by the Mules 13-9.

Colby got on the board first, scoring a touchdown in the first quarter. In the second quarter, the entire Amherst offense got involved. Quarterback Marek Hill ’28 connected with Christian Moore ’27, Keith Delaney ’26, Matthew Diaz ’27, Demitrius Smith ’27, and Zachary Curtin ’28 to move the chains. On third down on the Colby 11, Hill found Moore in the endzone for the score. Hudson Fulcher-Melendy ’28 made the extra point, and just like that, the game was tied. Neither team scored in the remainder of the second quarter. Wyatt Morgan ’28 sacked the Colby quarterback on two separate possessions to help keep the Mules out of the red zone.

In the second half, Hill was sacked, forcing the team to punt. On the Amherst punt, Colby blocked it, recovered the ball, and rushed into the endzone. Despite missing the extra point, the six-point lead proved to be insurmountable for the Mammoths. Multiple QB-hurries by the Colby defense in the remainder of the third resulted in dropped passes, and the score stayed at 13-7 heading to the final quarter. Halfway through the quarter, Colby was called for a holding penalty in the endzone, resulting in a two-point safety for Amherst — narrowing the gap to 13-9. With 1:22 left in the game, Amherst found itself with the ball. However, Hill could not connect with the receivers, and ultimately the game ended on the three-yard line with an incomplete pass to Carter Jung ’26 on fourth down.

Moore’s touchdown was the only one of the game for the Mammoths, and he led the offense with 114 yards. The loss is just the team’s second all season, but they look to rebound this weekend when they travel to Middletown, CT, to take on Little Three foe Wesleyan. 

Head of the Herd: Justine Liguori ’26

The field hockey team registered a dominant midweek win, beating Smith College 6-1. Midfielder Justine Liguori ’26 led the offense with three assists and one goal. Her ability to find the back of the net, as well as her other teammates, was on display, as she had a hand in four of the scoring possessions for the Mammoths. Despite the team’s loss against Hamilton, Liguori also registered a shot on goal, forcing a stop from the Hamilton keeper. For her exceptional play against Smith and her consistent offense all season, Liguori earns this week’s Head of the Herd.